Archives for December 30, 2016

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'Depending on when the surgery takes place, Taylor's recovery would likely be about a month, according to the source. The Bills have until March 11 to determine whether to pick up the option on his contract.'

'"It hurts to keep changing coaches, personnel, and all that," Watkins said Thursday, two days after Rex Ryan was fired and offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn was promoted to interim head coach. "But for me, it's happened in two years and I feel like it hurt me because I kind of bought into it like, 'Man, it's the worst thing ever.' I never had to go through transition and it kind of hurt me.'

'We touched on the Bills, sharing disbelief and disgust. We glossed over former long snapper Adam Lingner’s precision, how Steve Christie understood the snowplow effects of the winds on the scoreboard side of the stadium, how Steve Tasker belonged in the Hall of Fame, how it wasn’t Scott Norwood’s fault.'

'However, Lynn can do plenty to enhance his status as the early favorite by showing team owners Terry and Kim Pegula and General Manager Doug Whaley how well he's able to manage a game. Known for his strong attention to detail, Lynn gathered with his coaching staff Thursday to review everyone's game-day responsibilities.'

'The idea was to pick one blood-curdling, eye-bulging, scream-out-loud defeat in each of the 17 years of the franchise's playoff absence. It was not difficult and, in fact, because they are the Bills, some years included a few dishonorable mentions.'

'According to the report, Taylor will travel to Philadelphia, perhaps next week, to determine whether he needs surgery to repair the problem. Of course, this immediately rings bells and sends up flares because if Taylor can’t pass a physical when the new league year begins March 11, they will have to pay him $27.5 million in guaranteed money. And if they decide to cut Taylor, all $27.5 million would count against their 2017 salary cap.'

'Taylor had never thrown for 300 yards in an NFL game, and his rushing total brought his season tally to 580 yards, breaking his team record which he set in 2015.'

'"This is something that any football fan can relate to, because we have all had those seasons were our team is not doing as well as we wished," said the 31-year-old nutrition coach now living in New York City. "We are all upset and sometimes when you are upset the only thing you can do is … find the humor in something. It is not to say the situation is humorous but just to find the levity in it all."'

'"If they offered I might do it," Levy said laughing. "It was one of those things where after forty seven years of coaching I really needed to get that deep breath to step aside but after a couple of years passed I very much would have liked to have gone back…"'

'"Well, from Clemson, coach Dabo (Swinney) was strict and I that's what I think changed the culture and changed the players," Watkins said. "We started winning. We started to expect to win. Every game I came into I never thought I was going to lose it. That's what we have to do here. Situations here sometimes guys look at games with Peyton Manning or name-dropping Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown. Who cares? They're great players, but they do the same thing we do. We've got to step up as players against those guys."'

'However, in protecting themselves, the Bills are giving off the appearance they don't plan to pick up that option, leaving Taylor in an awkward spot being around the team this week. Maybe the hamstring is an issue, but it's certainly not the only one.'

'The safety played for the Bills from 1999-2001. He started 22 games during his time in Buffalo and recorded a career-high five interceptions in 2000. Following three seasons in Buffalo, Carpenter would go on to play with the Atlanta Falcons for three years. He finished his career 14 interceptions, 18 passes defensed and one defensive touchdown.'

'The complexity of the defense was seemingly only part of the issue. The larger issue was the players and coaches failing to communicate with one another and the coaches failing to adjust the scheme to the players. At the NFL Scouting Combine last February, Rex claimed he tried to do that.'

'She posted the video on Christmas Day. So far, it has more than 10,000 views on YouTube and more than 350,000 views on Facebook.'